International Council on Active Aging
Research Review Newsletter Vol. 12, No. 17

In this issue

People with high blood pressure still reduce risk with exercise
Take action during middle age to reduce hypertension
Thoughts of death can have positive consequences
Older adults unaware of preventive health services
Age-friendly outdoors help people reach walking goals
Resistance training improves cognitive skills
Want to avoid Alzheimer’s disease? Wash the dishes.

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People with high blood pressure still reduce risk with exercise

At the World Congress of Cardiology, the results of a prospective study of 434,190 individuals with hypertension were presented. Among the participants, 54% were classified as inactive, 22% as low active and 24% were considered to be medium, or above, active.

The risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality were significantly higher among inactive participants compared with active participants, independent of their levels of blood pressure. The excess mortality risk of physical inactivity, when converted into a “blood pressure equivalence of physical activity” measurement, was equivalent to an increase in blood pressure of 40-50 mmHg.

SOURCE: World Heart Federation (April 19, 2012)

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Take action during middle age to reduce hypertension

Hypertension and heart disease risk was examined in another presentation at the World Congress of Cardiology. The study evaluated the risk of different blood pressure categories among 6,273 participants ages 30 years old and older who were followed for 9.3 years. The results showed that the risk of developing incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) was significantly higher in people with high-normal blood pressure during middle age (30-60 years of age) than for people with the same high-normal blood pressure ages 60 years and older. However, the risk was similar for people with high blood pressure, regardless of age.

SOURCE: World Heart Federation (April 20, 2012)

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Thoughts of death can have positive consequences

The authors of a recent paper noted that most research looks at negative outcomes from thoughts about death. They decided to delve closely into published research and found numerous examples of experiments both in the lab and field that suggested a positive side to reminders about mortality.  They argued that an awareness of mortality could improve physical health, stimulate a re-prioritization of goals and values, and lead to helping others.

One major implication, commented lead author Kenneth Vail of the University of Missouri, is that research should move toward “a better understanding of how the motivations triggered by death awareness can actually improve people’s lives, rather than how it can cause malady and social strife.”

SOURCE: Personality and Social Psychology Review, online (April 5, 2012)

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Older adults unaware of preventive health services

In the United States, the publicly supported health insurance Medicare provides a once-a-year preventive visit  to a doctor to focus on health assessments and illness management. This annual “wellness” visit is free to people who pay a monthly premium for Part B insurance coverage and pays doctors nearly three times as much as an average office visit.

SURVEY: The poll of 1,028 people ages 65 and older asked whether, in the past 12
months, individuals received one of more of seven medical services: an annual medication review, a falls risk assessment and history, depression screening, referral to community-based health resources, and discussion of their ability to perform routine daily tasks and activities without help.

FINDINGS: Among the respondents, 68% had not heard of the preventive visit benefit or were not sure if they had heard of it. A small proportion (17%) of respondents said that they had received their annual wellness visit (Medicare’s records suggest that uptake is only 6.5%, according to background provided with the results). Most of the respondents (76%) reported receiving fewer than half of the services, 52% said they had received one or none, and 7% said they had received all the services.

COMMENT: “Preserving people’s ability to do the things that are important to them is the gold standard of geriatric care,” said Rosanne Leipzig, MD, PhD, professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “Helping people learn how to avoid falling, screening for depression, and closely tracking their medications can affect older patients’ quality of life just as much as any test we order or prescription we write.”

SOURCE: John A. Hartford Foundation (April 24, 2012)

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Age-friendly outdoors help people reach walking goals

Would older adults spend more time outdoors if the environment was right? The results of three studies among older adults in Great Britain were just released to answer that question. As the authors note, if an older person does not find it easy or enjoyable to get outdoors, they can spiral into poor physical health, less social contact with others and a reduced quality of life overall.

SURVEYS: Across Great Britain, 4,350 people 65 years and older were involved in three studies: interventions to create pedestrian-friendly, shared space residential streets; perceptions of tactile paving (textured ground surfaces) and its impact on mobility; and the role of outdoor space around the home (such as gardens) in improving quality of life. Research methods included people 65+ answering semi-structured interviews, older adults keeping an activity diary and wearing an accelerometer for one week, 200 street audits and laboratory experiments.

FINDINGS: The desire to get out and about did not diminish at older ages. Walkable access to local shops, services and green spaces doubled an older person’s chances of achieving recommended levels of ‘healthy walking,’ improved their level and range of activities, and increased feelings of life satisfaction.

The neighborhood features that enabled older adults to go outdoors were good paths, accessible open space, safe crossings and plentiful seats, toilets and greenery. At home, the features most associated with well-being were having one’s own patio, space to socialize and a “green” view of nature.

SOURCE: Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors (I’DGO) (April 26, 2012)

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Resistance training improves cognitive skills

A person with mild cognitive impairment may have problems with memory, but is still able to function in daily life. Dementia is a further progression of memory and thinking problems that do interfere with daily activities. Mild cognitive impairment is a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

STUDY: For a randomized controlled trial, 86 women with probable mild cognitive impairment performed resistance and aerobic training twice a week for six months. Participants were measured with a series of cognitive tests, and brain plasticity was assessed using functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

EXERCISES: The resistance training exercises used in the study are shown on a YouTube video.

FINDINGS: Resistance training significantly improved executive cognitive functions, associative memory performance, and functional brain plasticity. Aerobic training did not demonstrate a significant effect for cognitive and brain plasticity, a finding that contradicted the results of other studies.

COMMENT: “There is much debate as to whether cognitive function can be improved once there is noticeable impairment,” explained Teresa Liu-Ambrose, principal investigator with the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility and the Brain Research Centre at Vancouver Coastal Health.

“What our results show is that resistance training can indeed improve both your cognitive performance and your brain function. What is key is that it will improve two processes that are highly sensitive to the effects of aging and neurodegeneration: executive function and associative memory—often impaired in early stages of Alzheimer's disease.”

SOURCE: Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (April 24, 2012)

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Want to avoid Alzheimer’s disease? Wash the dishes.

A study from a separate research team confirms the value of any type of physical activity to reduce the risk of the form of dementia called Alzheimer’s disease.

STUDY: For the Rush Memory and Aging Project, 716 older individuals without dementia, average age 82, wore an actigraph on their non-dominant wrists continuously for 10 days to objectively measure their levels of activity. Participants completed annual cognitive tests and self-reported their physical and social activities.

FINDINGS: Over an average 3.5 years of follow-up, 71 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease. People in the bottom 10% of daily physical activity were 2.3 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared to people in the top 10% of daily activity.

Intensity of physical activity also was important. Individuals in the bottom 10% of intensity of physical activity were 2.8 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than were the people in the top percent of the intensity of physical activity.

COMMENT: “The results of our study indicate that all physical activities including exercise as well as other activities such as cooking, washing the dishes, and cleaning are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Aron S. Buchman, lead author and associate professor of neurological sciences at the Rush Medical Center.

“These results provide support for efforts to encourage all types of physical activity even in very old adults who might not be able to participate in formal exercise, but can still benefit from a more active lifestyle.”

SOURCE: Neurology, online (April 18, 2012)

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—compiled and reported by Patricia Ryan

Disclaimer

ICAA Research Review shares knowledge and information. The newsletter is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not medical advice. The ICAA encourages you to make health and business decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with a qualified professional.

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